Katara wasn't sure what to make of Zuko.
He was a Firebender, a vicious monster that burned down villages and tried to enslave the world.
But here he was petting Appa and feeding him way too much food.
Is he trying to make Appa fat so we can't fly him?
But she also knew that wasn't the case because he did the same thing with Momo. Momo, for as much as she loved him, was not essential for traveling.
So now she knew that Zuko was just an animal lover, which was strange.
He's a Firebender, how is he just... petting Appa.
It was so odd to see a Firebender not fighting them, much less being a big softie for animals.
Katara knew her brother was having the same dilemma that she was because he dropped his food and was now blatantly staring at the scene in front of them.
Zuko seemed to notice the stares pointed at him and stopped petting Appa.
Zuko huffed as he ate his food, "What? I like animals, sue me."
Aang perked up as Katara and Sokka collectively stopped functioning.
"I like animals too. Appa is the best out of all of them though. Ah!"
Aang rubbed his ear as Momo nipped him.
"You too Momo, you and Appa are the best. No contest."
Aang sighed as Momo huffed and went to sit on Zuko's shoulders instead of his.
Zuko chuckled and finished his food, getting up to clean it.
Katara watched him with narrowed eyes, "What are you doing?"
Zuko looked back at her, a little caught off by her suspicions.
"Uh, washing my plate. Am I not supposed to? I can make dinner next time if you want to switch the chores?"
Katara looked at Zuko, the Firebender who had just become her best friend in the universe.
"You'll cook dinner tomorrow?"
Zuko rubbed his neck, unsure why he was being questioned for something obvious.
"Uh yeah."
Sokka watched in astonishment as Katara got up and told Zuko all of the ingredients they had on hand for dinner tomorrow.
What is she doing? He might poison it.
Sokka sputtered, trying to make sure he didn't choke on his food from his surprise.
"What are you doing Katara? How can you trust him to make food? Have you forgotten he might be trying to capture Aang?"
Sokka felt absolute betrayal as Katara waved her hand dismissively.
Katara scoffed, "It'll be fine. We already said we'd let him travel with us. And unless you want to start cooking I think I'm going to let our new friend cook dinner tomorrow. Is that good with you Zuko?"
Zuko nodded, happy that he seemed to have convinced one of the Water Tribe siblings he wasn't trying to kill them.
Sokka watched as Katara and Zuko started talking about ingredients they could get in the next town, and shared the recipes of dishes they knew how to make.
I can't believe it. She water-whipped him in the chest yesterday and now she's acting like he's her best friend.
Sokka huffed and got his map to plot the course to the next town.
He didn't care that Aang and now Katara seemed to have taken a liking to Zuko. He was a Firebender, and Sokka wasn't going to let his guard down around him. Not until they were safely inside Agna Qel'a that they wouldn't have to worry about his possible treachery.
I won't be fooled...
......
Zuko didn't know what he was expecting when he started traveling with the Avatar, but he was pleasantly surprised.
Aang already treated him like they'd been friends for years. He thought it was odd that the Avatar seemed so intent on being friends with someone from the Fire Nation but he wasn't complaining.
Maybe that's why he's the Avatar. He'll try to save everyone, not just destroy the Fire Nation like everyone else expects him to.
He was glad that Aang took a liking to him. The fact that his pets liked him too was a plus.
Katara and Sokka were a different story.
Well, ever since he started cooking and taking up some of the chores Katara seemed to have started trusting him. He figured it was partly because she had to do all the chores by herself before, but hey, he didn't mind doing chores to earn a little trust.
As long as she doesn't hit me with that whip again then I'll do all the chores if I need to. It took forever to heal the rib she bruised.
Overall, things were looking better for Zuko on the Katara front of the travel party.
Sokka though was not going as well.
Sokka didn't seem to hate him anymore, but he didn't trust him.
I get that he said he was going to keep an eye on me, but does he need to do it all the time?
It felt like in everything he did, Sokka was watching him. The only time he didn't was when he was with Katara and Aang, and thankfully when he had to use the bathroom.
He groaned as they arrived at the village where the fortune teller Madam Wu lived in.
He didn't believe in most fortune tellers, they were usually bogus and just out to grab a quick buck.
But he was blessed by Agni and shared a dream with someone 3 years ago, he didn't think fortune telling was impossible after that.
He walked up the steps as they waited for Madam Wu to talk to them. He wasn't looking forward to having his fortune told. With his luck it wouldn't be any good.
It appears he wasn't the only one either, as he heard Sokka grumble about 'fortune-telling bullshit' from next to him.
Katara heard it too because she swatted Sokka's arm, "It is not bullshit Sokka. There are things in the world that can't be explained, wouldn't it be helpful to see an insight into our future?"
Sokka groaned, not enjoying his sister's antics, "Fortune telling isn't real, she'll just tell you something vague that you want to hear so you'll keep coming back."
Sokka got distracted by the cheese puffs they laid out and started munching on them greedily.
Katara huffed at her stupid brother's refusal to believe in anything not 'science related.
What's with him? We found the Avatar frozen in ice, how unbelievable would it be for fortune telling to be real?
She was about to tell Sokka he was being an idiot when Madam Wu entered the room and offered to give them their fortunes.
Sokka watched with a sigh as his sister happily went with Madam Wu, glad to get scammed by the con artist.
Such bogus. Fortune telling my butt.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Aang's voice, "What do you think they're talking about in there?"
Sokka scoffed, "I don't know, probably who she's gonna marry or something stupid like that."
Zuko watched with slight amusement as Aang lied about going to the bathroom.
He's going to spy on them.
Sokka was pulled out of his cheese puffs as he heard Zuko snicker.
Sokka narrowed his eyes, "What's so funny? Don't tell me you believe this fortune-telling nonsense too."
There's no way. Sure Zuko is a Firebender and probably evil, but he wouldn't believe in fortune telling too would he?
Sadly Sokka was disappointed as Zuko shrugged in response.
Zuko spoke nonchalantly, "Fortune telling wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've seen. It's probably fake but there's no harm in seeing it out."
Sokka huffed, "What do you mean it wouldn't be the weirdest thing you've seen? If fortune telling was real, which it isn't, then that would be the weirdest thing in the world."
Zuko sighed, fortune telling would barely make his top five of weird things he's seen. He didn't see why it was such a big deal.
I have a golden fire that heals people, I was saved by Agni as a baby, Uncle showed me actual dragons, I shared a dream with Yue who lives in the North Pole, and that's not even counting the weirdo Guru, Uncle and I saw at the Air temple.
But Zuko couldn't say that so he just shrugged.
Sokka was about to interrogate Zuko when Aang got back, seemingly too pleased for just using the bathroom.
Sokka raised an eyebrow, "Must've been a nice bathroom break if you're that excited."
Aang panicked, not wanting Sokka to know he spied on his sister.
"Uh yeah totally. There was this weird -"
Sokka held up his hand, "No stop! I don't need to know that."
Zuko laughed at Aang's confused expression as Madam Wu came back with Katara in tow.
Sokka got up, "All right, let's get this over with."
Madam Wu looked at him unimpressed, "You will face misery and pain, mostly self-inflicted."
Sokka's eyes widened, "But you haven't read my palm or anything."
Madam Wu scoffed, "I don't need to. It's written on your face."
Zuko laughed as she grabbed Aang in for his session.
Sokka sat back down and ate his cheese puffs, seemingly upset with the fortune that he didn't believe in.
Katara snickered, "What's wrong Sokka, I thought fortune telling was bogus, why are you so mad at yours?"
Sokka huffed, "It is bogus, Madam Wu is a liar."
Katara hummed, "I don't know... I think your just mad because you're going to make yourself miserable for the rest of your life."
Zuko chuckled as the two siblings went back and forth on the accuracy of Madam Wu's readings.
The door opened and Aang walked out, seemingly content with his reading.
Madam Wu scanned the room as her gaze landed on Zuko.
Her eyes flashed with recognition before she pointed at him, "You, come with me. The rest of you can go, his fortune will take a lot longer than the others."
Zuko had a sinking suspicion as he followed Madam Wu, leaving his baffled friends as he went to get his fortune told.
Zuko sat down as Madam Wu went to pull something out of her cabinet.
What is she doing? Is she going to get a knife to read my fortune or something?
He nervously sat down, wondering what scary ritual Wu was going to do until he saw her pull out a Paisho board.
Zuko groaned as he realized this was one of his uncle's friends.
Wonder if she'll be mad that I forgot the secret code...
..........
Sokka was walking with Katara and Aang as they toured around the village.
He couldn't believe it. Everyone here followed Madam Wu's fortune-telling to the letter. They didn't even question it.
Seriously what's with these people? Haven't they heard of science? Why do they keep doing whatever Wu tells them to?
He was pulled out of his thoughts as Katara wondered out loud, "Why do you think Madame Wu needed more time to talk with Zuko? His fortune can't be that interesting, can it?"
Katara was curious, she was already planning to go back to Wu because her fortune felt short. She was a little jealous that Zuko got to have a longer fortune reading than her.
Sokka shrugged, not caring why Wu wanted to lie to Zuko more than the others.
Aang spoke up, "Maybe it's because he's involved with the spirits."
Sokka and Katara froze as they heard Aang casually dropping a bombshell on them.
Sokka looked at Aang, trying to make sure he didn't hear him incorrectly, "What do you mean, involved with the Spirits?"
Aang started sweating as he faced the stares of his two friends.
Monkey feather! I thought they knew.
Aang rubbed his head nervously as he gave Zuko a silent apology, "Yeah, he was touched by the spirits. I asked my past lives why his fire was golden because I was curious and they said it was because he had been blessed by a spirit in the past."
Katara's jaw dropped, "His fire is golden?"
Aang nodded, slightly confused, "Yeah it's golden. It's super cool, I thought you would have seen it already. He trains every morning."
Sokka groaned at his friend's obliviousness, "Well Aang, that may be because Katara and I don't wake up at dawn to watch your crazy Firebending training."
Aang huffed, "It's not crazy Firebending. I'm not even allowed to Firebend yet, Zuko said I had to master the other elements first so right now he just has me meditating."
Even though I'd be an awesome Firebender. Why shouldn't I be allowed to throw Fireballs at people, they shoot fire at me all the time.
Sokka groaned as he decided to ignore the fact that the new suspicious Firebender now had super suspicious Firebending on top of that.
Ugh. I can't be bothered.
He decided to try and convince these village morons that fortune-telling wasn't real while Aang went to get a flower or something off the mountain.
.......
Zuko was walking around the village after talking to Madam Wu. Turns out she was incredibly mad that he forgot their secret code, and spent the majority of the time making him memorize it.
The jokes on her, I still don't remember the last half of it.
He groaned as he thought about how he would eventually have to find another random person playing Paisho and fail to remember the code again.
Stupid code. Why couldn't they make it easier? Why'd they had to make it Paisho-related, I've played enough Paisho to last a lifetime.
He thought back to when he first started playing with Uncle, and how he had gotten pretty good so he could beat Yue when he played against her.
I wonder if she's gotten any better...
He stopped walking as he remembered what Madame Wu told him about his fortune.
He scoffed, Yeah right, there's no way I'd be that lucky.
He continued walking, trying not to think about the white-haired Waterbender he met years ago that matched the description of the person he was supposed to marry.
.........
Zuko was minding his own business, looking at the market stalls when he saw Aang speeding towards him on his air scooter.
"Zuko! The volcano is going to erupt! You got to help us stop it!"
Zuko dropped the merchandise he was looking at and sprinted after Aang, coming to the edge of the village as he saw the villagers digging dirt holes to slow the lava.
He jumped over the wall and went with Aang to the edge of the lava.
"Aang, you cool it with your Airbending and I'll try to suck some of the heat out of it."
Zuko watched as Aang nodded and flew over the volcano to cool the approaching lava.
Zuko slowed his breathing, knowing it would be difficult to pull off the move he wanted to. Uncle had only taught him it in theory, after all.
He drew the heat from the approaching lava, watching it turn to stone before he turned toward the air and blew a golden stream of fire out of his mouth.
He heard gasps from the crowd behind him but kept his focus on the lava, not wanting it to get any closer to the village.
Finally, once the lava seemed to slow Aang landed next to him and Katara and Sokka joined up with them.
Katara looked at Zuko wearily, remembering his golden fire that shot into the sky like a beacon.
Guess Aang wasn't lying...
She was about to ask if everyone was alright when the volcano exploded and the lava started pouring into the village.
Zuko pulled her wrist as he shouted at them, "We have to go! There's nothing we can do for the village now! We gotta get out of here!"
She turned to follow him but realized that Aang wasn't following them.
she turned to him, seeing him look at the volcano, "Aang, we have to go!"
Aang turned around toward katara and the village that had trusted him.
He shook his head, "No. I'm going to stop the volcano."
He took off ignoring Katara's worried cries as he flew to the top of the volcano.
Katara watched in awe as Aang went into the Avatar state, stopping the lava as he redirected it to the other side of the island.
She heard Sokka whistle behind her, "Wow! I sometimes forget because he's always so laid back but Aang is a powerful bender."
Zuko nodded in agreement, "No kidding."
Maybe I didn't need to worry about Zhao capturing him, he could have blown a hole in Pouhai if he wanted to leave.
He was pulled out of his thoughts as Katara spoke up, "Wait, what did you say?"
Sokka looked at his sister, "Uh. I just said that we're lucky Aang is a really powerful bender."
Katara's eyes widened as she remembered Madame Wu's prophecy.
No way... Unless...
She greeted Aang as he landed and told the villagers they were safe.
She thought about her prophecy as they lifted off the ground and headed toward the North Pole, wondering if she had already met the powerful bender she was supposed to marry.